I suddenly have a lot more time in my afternoons since the long runs are through, and it’s also getting so cold, making it hard to motivate myself to do anything but head home and crawl under the covers with a mug of hot tea– what I did every day last week after school, even after my soreness was long gone. But, I want to settle back into a normal (pre-marathon training) running routine, and I found a recovery plan at RW to help me out. It has really manageable runs between 3-4.5 miles, and by the end of the month, I’ll be doing a regular 4-6, 5 times a week. I also really miss my regular yoga practice so I’m going to aim to do at least 15 minutes each day so my arms will be in shape when I get home and go back to Lotus!

Come January, I’m going to set a time goal for my next half-marathon, so that will be something fun to work toward. Registration is open already for Charlotte Racefest on April 14th, and I’m so tempted to register for it right this minute! Since that race is so late in the spring semester, I might find another one in NC to run earlier if my running buddies want to drive to it. I definitely want to run at least one race next semester sub-two hours, and depending how my training goes, maybe even 1:45-1:50. That might be insane, but I’m still in the post-marathon feeling of invincibility, and I’m gonna roll with it for now.

So I did 4 miles after school yesterday, all on flat ground, which felt disturbingly slow, stiff, and sore, but I need to be patient with myself that I can’t just bust out 8 or 9 miles on a regular basis like usual, after the huge impact of the marathon, just last weekend. Today I’m gonna do an easy 3, to my new soundtrack of Christmas music. That’s my new thing this week– all Christmas music, all the time. I know it’s early, not even Thanksgiving or Black Friday, but Florence seems a lot less gray and cold when someone is singing to me about frosted windowpanes, lights, and roasting chestnuts. So there you have it.

I’m very happy today because a friend of mine from a long time ago (interview weekend at Davidson!) contacted me and I’m hoping this means we’ll keep up correspondence with more regularity and perhaps even cross paths before too terribly long. Hearing from him was a bit of a scary reality check, though; we met before college started, and now we’re about to start our second semesters of junior year!

So after a bit of a rough post-marathon week (sorry for not posting), I’ve got the bounce back in my step and am working on things like an essay contest for my abroad program, term papers, and the creative project that goes along with my marathon training… <– see how this all involves writing? Yup, it’s that time of year. My angelic friend Madeline got tickets to a Creighton game for us, Tom, and Joe, for the day after I get back into town. What jet lag? I’m gonna go watch basketball with mah frienzzz!

So that’s preeetty much it for now. Roma was beautiful and I still can’t get over the experience of seeing Bernini’s sculptures “The Abduction of Proserpina” and “Apollo and Daphne” in person.

<3 Jane

P.S. Random photos from all sorts of sources… just ’cause I think they’re pretty and I want to show them to you! How cute is that dog in a scarf? The yoga one is from Spiritual Gangster, the others? Probably Wit & Delight or Note to Self. Thx guyz.

How great that you have heard from one of your scholars weekend mates! They were a fantastic group, all neat friends, and you all seemed to bond immediately. The three (?) of you should make a point of meeting up when you return–in Virginia perhaps?

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- Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- The Inferno by Dante Alighieri, trans. Robert Pinsky
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